Furnace doorframe



March 4, 1941.

F. c. swARTz 2,233,650.

FURNACE DOORFRAME Filed Feb. 3, 1940 FHS- 1 F-"IEL 2- llllllllllllllll/ /fzveizaf @4A/K C WA/Erz,

.Patented Mar.,` 4, .1941

VUNITEDA STATES s matto 5 Claims.

particularly to an improved doorframe for open hearth furnaces and the like.

Open hearth furnaces and various other types .of metallurgical furnaces are usually provided with a door movable in a vertical plane'and suspended'above the furnace and to the side thereof opposite the charging opening therein for clos- ,ing the same. There is also usually provided a metallic frame around the opening in the furnace against which the door is adapted to bedisposed in its closed position.- It is commonly known that .the doors and doorframes in such furnaces are subjected to extremely high temperatures and much abuse in the use thereof. Generally, the door and doorframe in these furnaces is provided with a cooling 'arrangement to protect lthe same against the intense heat of the furnace, but heretofore, no provision has been made to protect the frame against damage and consequent deformation caused by .the armof the charging machine and charging boxes, together with the charging material protruding from the charging boxes, in striking the sides of the frame as the furnace is being charged as in the open hearth practice. l

It will be readily seen Athat when the. frame of such a furnace Ibecomes deformed or distorted, the door will not fit properly and gaps arel formed between the door and vthe frame which are the source of considerable heat loss. is not only undesirable and expensive Ibut the frames require frequent replacement which is inconvenient and involves considerable expense.

Also, in the use of vertically arranged doors it is difficult .to obtain a tight closure with the frame due to the fact that the door is usually loosely suspended over the furnace opposite the opening and there is no means provided for holding the door against the frame when it was closed. This, of course, resulted in the door being spaced a slight distance therefrom, thereby resulting in a small amount of useful heat escaping from the lfurnace therebetween which was not entirely satisfactory;

In the present invention, ythere is not only provided an improved door frame for such furnaces in which the above named disadvantages have been eliminated but also a frame and door which insures the charging opening in the furnace against leakage ofthe gases from therein.

l which is strong and rugged in its construction Such heat loss (o1. 11o-18o) This invention relates to doorframes, andv and one which will not become distorted or otherwise damaged in its use.

It is another object of the invention to -provide an improved doorframe for open hearth furnaces. and the like which is simple and inexpensive in its construction and one which will safely and accurately guide the door in its vertical movement as Well as the charge into the furnace.

It is a further object of the inventionto provide an improved door and doorframe for open hearth furnaces and the like which effectively and efficiently seals the opening in the furnace against leakage.

Various other objectsand advantages of this invention will become more apparent in lthe course of the following specification.

In the accompanying drawing, there .is shown, for' the purpose of illustration and description, one-embodiment which my invention may assume in practice.

In this drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a furnace show- 'ing the improved doorframe of my invention incorporated with the charging opening thereof;

Figure 2 is a top view of my improved doorframe;

Figure 3 is a section taken on line III-III of Figure 1; and,

Figure 4 is a section taken on Figure .1.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the improved doorframe of my invention is shown incorporated with the charging opening of an open hearth furnace. In the present case, the `doorframe consists of a hollow arch-like memberV 2 of an elliptical shape cross-section having a top portion 3 and side or leg portions 4, through which asuitable cooling fluid is adapted to pass to cool the frame. There is disposed on the outer surface of each 'of the side or leg portions 4 preferably a longitudinally extending member 5 for guiding a ldoor 6 in its vertical movement.

According to the present invention, there is arranged on the outer surface of each of the leg portions 4 inside of the members 5 a vertically extending wedge-like member 'l having a length at least equal to the height of the charging open.l

in the furnace. The Wedge-like members 1 are securely attached lto the leg portions 4 prferably by means of welding with the thicker end of the wedge-like membersbeing'disposed atkthe line IV-(IV of bottom of. the frame and the thinner ends thereof disposed adjacent the top thereof so thatl the outer surface of the side or leg portions 4 of the frame is tapered upwardly as at 8.

The inner opposed edges of the wedge-like members 'I are outwardly beveled as at 9 throughout the length thereof, or if desired, these edges may be curved. While the wedge-like members 1 are preferably separate pieces, -it will be seen that they may be made integral with the side orA leg portions of the frame if desired, for instance, in the form of a rib or may be formed in any other suitable manner just as long as there is provided an upwardly tapered smooth surface as is provided by the wedge-like members as at 8. Also, the wedge-like members 'l may be hollow if desired, for cooling purposes, but they are preferably made solid as shown.

It will be understood that the door shown is suspended above the furnace in any suitable manner and it is movable in substantially a vertical plane and that the inner face of the door cooperates with the outer tapered surfaces 8 of the wedge-like members 1 so as to be guided thereby and securely seal the opening against leakage. That is, the inner face of the door in its closed position ts flush with the tapered smooth surface 8 of the wedge-like members and the door, due to its weight, bears thereagainst, so as to securely seal the opening against leakage of the gases from within the furnace. The lower portion of the inner surface of the door 6 is preferably tapered downwardly as at I0 and has a taper corresponding to that of the -outer surface 8 of the wedge-like members 'l with which it is adapted to cooperate when the door is in its closed position, as shown in Figure 3 of the drawing, but it will be understood that any conventional door having a straight inner wall may be satisfactorily used, if desired, as the same result will be obtained. It will be seen that the wedge-like members 'I not only guide the door in its vertical movement and cooperate therewith to eiectively seal the opening against leakage, but also strengthen and reenforce the sides or leg portions of the frame so as to prevent the same from becoming damaged and distorted or buckled.

It will be understood that the beveled portions 9 on the inner opposed edges of the wedge-like Ymembers 1 are adapted to guide the charging box or charge into the furnace, that is, if the charging box or material being charged into the furnace should happen to strike the sides ofthe frame or leg portions it will be deflected away therefrom and into the furnace by the beveled portions 9, thereby preventing the sides of the frame from being damaged. Y

As a result of my invention, it will be seen that there is provided a strong and rugged doorframe having a longer life and, at the same time, a doorframe which provides an effective seal against heat loss. It will also be seen that the portion of the frame most subject to wear, namely, the side or leg portions thereof, are safely protected by the wedge-like members 1 which may be easily and conveniently replaced if desired, and at the same time, these wedge-like members provide the required sectional resistance and stiffness to the frame legs, thereby eliminating any danger of warping and distortion thereof.

While I have shown and described one specic embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that this embodiment is merely for the purpose of illustration and description and that.

various other forms may be devised within the scope of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I\claim 1. The combination with a furnace of the class described having an opening in the side thereof for charging the same, of adoor arranged for vertical movement opposite said opening for closportions arranged on the inner opposed vertical.

edges thereof for guiding a charge into the furnace.

2. The combination with a'furnace of the classl described having an opening in the side thereof for charging the same, of a door arranged for vertical movement opposite 4said, opening for closing the same,a'doorframe disposed around said opening including a hollow member arranged therearound ythrough which a cooling fluid passes for cooling the frame, and a vertically arranged wedge-like member welded to the outer surface of said hollow member on each side of said frame extending substantially the height of said opening 'with the thicker end of each of said wedge-like members disposed at the bottom of said frame and the thinner ends thereof disposed adjacent the top of the same, each of said wedge-like members having an outwardly beveled edge portion arranged on the inner opposed edges thereof and extending throughout the length of the same, said wedge-like membersbeing constructed and arranged so that the door in its vertical movementwill be guided by the outer tapered surfaces thereof with the inner face of the door lying firmly thereagainst when the same is in its closed position thereby securely sealing the opening against leakage, said inner opposed beveled edge portions of said wedge-like members adapted toguide a charge into the furnace and to protect the hollow cooling members against damage.

4 3. A doorframe for a furnace of the class described having a vertically arranged and movable door for closing the opening therein, a wedge-v like member securely welded to each side of the furnace in its vertical movement will be guided by the outer tapered surfaces of the wedge-like members and lie firmly thereagainst when the door isin its closed position, thereby securely sealing the opening into the furnace against leakage.

'4. A doorframe for furnaces of the class described having a vertically arranged and movable door for closingthe opening therein, a wedgelike member securely arranged on each side of the frame on the outer side thereof extending vertically and substantially the height o'f the opening so as to strengthen and reenforce the sides of the frame with the thicker end of each of saidv wedges'disposed at the bottom of said frame and the thinner ends thereof disposed ad- `75 jacent the top of the same, each of said wedgelike members having an outwardly beveled edge portion on the inner opposed edges thereof, said Wedge-like members being constructed and arranged so that the door of the furnace in its vertical movement will be guided by the outer tapered surfaces of the wedge-like members and lie firmly thereagainst when the door is in its closed position, thereby securely sealing the opening into the furnace against leakage.

5. The combination with a furnace of the class described having an opening in the side thereof for charging the same, of a door arranged for vertical movement opposite said opening for closing the same, and a doorframe .disposed around said opening having a vertically arranged wedge-like member securely welded to each side of the frame on the outer side thereof so as to strengthen and reenforce the sides of the frame with the thicker end of each of said Wedges disposed at the bottom of said frame and the thinner ends thereof disposed adjacent the top of the same, said door having its inner surface at least at the bottom portion thereof downwardly tapered `corresponding to the taper of the outer surface of said wedge-like members with which the door is adapted to cooperate so as to guide 

